Brave Hearts
by Sadie555
Summary: A 7 year old is raped. Elliot and Olivia are working on it. Will the girl help Elliot deal with his own troubles, or does Olivia have to step in? Definently not finnished, but PLEASE, read and review. Lemmie know what you think. Not sure when I'll fi
1. Default Chapter

"Elliot? Where're you going? It's not even three in the afternoon yet." Olivia asked her partner curiously. She stuck her yellow pad, full of scribbles and notes of her cases, on her desk.

"I don't know. Takin a walk maybe, go get a bite to eat, see my kids." he started listing his plan, hiding the 'see my kids' part within. He knew she'd feel for him when he said that, so he began to leave while he listed them, throwing his coat on at the same time. It was winter in New York. A chilly time for crimes.

"I know the case is tough." Olivia said. She had that tone in her voice that said she was tired, but happy for Elliot. Their case included a child rapist who roamed the streets of New York. The poor kid was only 7 years old. Her name was Taylor and she was sweet as could be. That was what touched Elliot and Olivia the most.

"Yeah." he agreed, before walking out the door into the freezing temperatures. What he didn't know was that Taylor's parents had just called Olivia about five minutes earlier. Taylor had said she had some more to say. Sighing, Olivia sat down to rest for herself until Taylor came. This job was tough on both of them.

Taylor walked in with her mother. You could tell she was nervous. Each step she took seemed to be harder than the first. _She is so brave._ Olivia thought to herself, getting up to greet them. In no time at all, she had turned herself from a tired old woman to a nice, kid-friendly lady. She had to do that a lot though.

"Hi Taylor" Olivia said, crouching down to meet her level. "We're going to go someplace else to talk, ok?" Taylor nodded. Olivia could tell she was nervous, and took her hand, with her yellow pad under her other arm, and of coarse, her coffee in her other hand. "Come on" she said, leading her to a new room.

The new room was an old interrogation room. Grey walls and metal table. There were many chairs around the table though, so Taylor picked out one on the side. Olivia sat in the one on the end right next to her. She sat her coffee down on the table, and her yellow pad next to it, ready to scribble some more about the case.

"Would you like something to drink?" She asked her. This time, Taylor shook her head.

"No thank you" she replied.

"Alright" Olivia continued. "Well, your mom called." she told her. "She said you wanted to talk." Taylor took a deep breath, but nodded. "Ok." Olivia said, waiting for her to begin.


	2. chapter 2

"You asked me before if, I um, had any friends." she started off. Her eyes stayed away from Olivia's, which made her relize this girl was afraid to tell her something. The detective just nodded a little, maintaining her look towards the child. But Taylor began to cry.

"What's wrong, Taylor?" Detective Benson asked her softly.

"I'm so sorry." Taylor managed to get out before breaking into more of a sob. Her face was now a waterfall of tears, which she hid within her hands. Olivia sighed lightly, as to not effect the girl in any way, but to let off some of her own anxiety. She knew that something big was coming soon, but she had to wait patiently to get it.

"Why are you sorry honey?" You didn't do anything wrong." Olivia said, reaching out a hand to rub on her back and comfort her.

"But I told you I didn't have any." she got out between sobs. "and I do. I have one." Taylor said.

"It's alright. Taylor, it's ok, just tell me about this friend." Detective Benson said gently, trying to make this conversation easier on her.

"I think you're going to get mad at me." she protested.

"I'm not going to be mad at you, sweetheart." Olivia re-assured her. This poor child.

"Then Mr. Stabler will." Taylor added. Elliot had interrogated her with Olivia when they had first met.

"Why would he get mad at you?" she asked Taylor, putting a hand on hers.

"Because, my friend is Lizzie" she said, looking at her waiting for a reaction. Olivia realized she was watching, so kept her thoughts short, and responded quickly to her problem.

"Don't you worry about it, alright? I'll talk to him and-,"

"No!" the 7 year old cried. "If you tell him, she'll get in trouble. I promised I wouldn't tell, but I couldn't lie." she admitted.

The Detective nodded gentley. "You're a very honest girl." she agreed. "I want you to worry about yourself, though. I'll take care of Lizzie, ok?"

Taylor was hesitant, trying to think if this would be the best possible solution. After a moment, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright." Olivia continued, jotting down Lizzie's name on her yellow pad. "Is there anything special that Lizzie did? Something we need to know about to help you?"

"Well, we were playing hide and seek at school. It was my turn to hide. I hid behind a dumpster, near the fence. While I was waiting for her, I...I saw him. Walking by the school. He was staring at me. He did that almost everyday after that game. Lizzie kinda stopped playing with me when I was afraid that I'd see him when I was alone. I didn't tell her though."

Olivia's hand flew across the paper as she wrote down everything she could. When she finnished, the detective looked up. "Anything else?" Taylor shook her head. Wet red streaks from her tears still colored her cheeks. Taylor rubbed her eyes with her hands to dry them off. "Would you like to use the restroom and wash off your face, Taylor?" The girl shook her head, though, and soon Dectective Benson was walking her out the door, saying goodbye.


	3. chapter 3

Thank you for your help everyone. Though the age may be off by a few years, just picture this all happening when the kids are younger!

Olivia was at her desk, wondering how to handle the situation regarding Taylor. She thought about her partner. For as long as she had been working with him, she knew he trusted her, and she trusted him. But the trust she was thinking about didn't have to do with Elliot. It had to do with herself and Taylor.

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She looked at the number. It was Elliot. Quickly, she tried to think of what to say to him. When it rang four times, and she still couldn't think of anything, she took a deep breath, and answered it.

"Hey, how's the case?" Elliot said, first thing.

"Oh, um…" her mind raced for the quickest truthful response that wouldn't give anything away just yet. "It's getting there." she told him.

"Yeah?" he began to look for details.

"Elliot," she said, "You told me you were going to take a break, see your kids." she explained. "Just relax. I have it under control." she said, trying to convince herself while she tried to persuade him.

"I…I guess you're right." he gave in. "Sorry. I'll try and get some rest." he said.

"Ok, I'll talk to you later." she told him, trying not to feel or sound excited or guilty about wanting to feel this way. The sooner they hung up, the easier it would be for her.

"Ok, see ya Liv, and thanks."

"Yeah. Bye." and she hung up with a big sigh of relief. How in the world would she tell him? Soon enough, she decided that she'd better just get to work on the case than waste anymore time thinking about Elliot.  



	4. Chapter 4

More than an hour later, Detective Benson was still sitting at her desk, trying to figure out how she would solve the case. Sighing, she took another sip of her now cold coffee, and looked at her yellow pad of notes for the 20th time, so it seemed.

Name: Culver, Taylor

Age: 7

Situtation: Sexual Assult

Description of Suspect:

Male. Tall, medium build. Short, dark brown hair. Left ear pierced, left eyebrow pierced.

Brown eyes. Chain necklace. Fingernails bitten.

Other notes:

Playing hide & seek with friend. Saw supspect walk by schoolyard.

Stalked Taylor everyday then on by schoolyard.

Dectective Benson decided to talk to the family again, but knew she wouldn't be able to solve this case on her own. Olivia got up and walked over to the Captians office.

"Captain, I can't work this case alone. Elliot is taking some time off. Is there anyone free?" she asked.

"What's the case?" he asked.

"Taylor Culver. Seven year old sexual assult."

"Take Fin, I think he's open."

"Thanks Captain. Oh, and we have another little problem." Olivia told him about how Lizzie was Taylor's friend. Since Elliot was off, he didn't know yet. Not only that, but Lizzie most likely had some valuble information that they needed to get at, but Elliot wasn't the kind who would take a break knowing that his kid was involved in the case. Not only that, but Olivia's promise to Taylor wouldn't help.

"Let me worry about getting contact with Lizzie." Craigen said. "Why don't you go to the school and talk to some of the people there. See if they noticed anything. I'll have Fin do some more research on the suspect."

"I'm going to talk to the family first. See if I can get any new information. Thanks Captain." Right after she left his office, she threw on her coat and scarf and headed out to her car. This was going to be a long day.

Please review. Lemmie know how it is. I'm currently working on chapter 5. It should be up soon. Thanks to all of the people who have reviewed already. Your kind words are greatly appriciated.

Reviewers: Rox88, eightieschild17, Cite Your Source CSI (love the name!), Dreamer7182002, Fox-tale, rainingmist, Meakashi Gosterful, Penalty Queen2007, gerfan, and crimsonwinds17874. Thanks for your comments and support.


	5. Chapter 5

_Ding dong! _Benson pressed the doorbell to the Culver family home. Snow was begining to settle lightly on the streets of the city, and as the daylight dissapeared, the streetlights lit up the cold night.

Who answered the door, none other than Taylor herself. "Hi Olivia!" Taylor greeted with bright eyes. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her pink shirt and black pants looked perfect together. Her house let nice, toasty air out into the wintery night. The smell of cookies filled the house.

"Hey Taylor. Is your mommy home?" Olivia replied, bending down to eye level with the girl.

"Yeah...MOMMY!" Taylor yelled, still standing at the front door. "OLIVIA'S HERE! Come in!" she urged the detective, taking her hand. Olivia happily accepted.

"Hello Detective." Mrs. Culver came into the room. She was wearing a pretty blue dress "Do you have any new information?"

"Actualy, I came here to get more." she replied.

"We already told you everything we knew" her mother said.

"Maybe not." Olivia continued. She loked at Taylor and said "Taylor, sweetheart, I need to talk to your mommy privately. Is that alright?"

Taylor's smile dissapeared, and a dissapointed look spread across her tiny face. "Alright. But lemmie know when your done!"

"Don't worry, I will." Detective Benson called back to her as she bounded up the stairs to her room.

"Please, have a seat detective." Mrs. Culver offered. Olivia sat down on the couch while Mrs. Culver took the chair.

"Mrs. Culver, did Taylor ever mention anything weird going on at school?" the detective began.

After a hesitant moment, the mother nodded. "She did mention something about this tall man watching the children play durring recess."

"Did she mention anything else about him?"

"Only that she felt he was watching her. I only told her that she was safe on the school grounds. I guess I kind of forgot." she told her. A moment later, she gasped. "Oh my gosh. He isn't the man who...did he hurt her?" she said, in almost a whisper.

Olivia shrugged, with a look full of sympathy on her face. "We're not sure. Maybe."

"I should have done something. I shouldn't have let it go! My baby was hurt because of me!" Tears began forming in her eyes.

"Mrs. Culver, it was not your fault. This man has commited a crime.You had no idea that he would hurt her." Oliviva said with a soothing voice.

"I guess your right." the mother finaly gave in. "I'm just so scared for Taylor."

"I understand." Detective Benson comforted. "Mrs. Culver, did your daughter ever talk about someone named Lizzie?"

"Yes. She said she was having fun playing with her at recess. Until that man came along. Then she didn't seem to mention her anymore. Does she have anything to do with Taylor?"

"We think so, but we need more information. I need to speak with Taylor again, if that's alright, and then I'll be on my way."

"Of coarse." her mother said. "She's right up the stairs and to the left."

"Thank you." Benson stood up to go see the 7 year old.

"Detective?" Mrs. Culver stopped her. Olivia turned to face her. "Thank you for your help. Please find the horrible man who did this to my poor baby."

"We'll try. I promise we're trying." and with that she headed up the stairs to Taylor.


	6. Chapter 6

There were pink flowers boardering the pale yellow walls of the child's bedroom. A dollhouse sat in the corner while a child's play table stood facing the windows. A small bookshelf was filled with fairytales and other magical stories with endings that were happily ever-after.

Unfortunently, Taylor had found out too soon that life isn't a fairytale. She seemed to still act as though it was, however. She had put on her princess halloween costume, complete with a tiara and a magic wand. Her high heels clicked along the hardwood floor of her room.

"Olivia!" the child said happily. "Look! I'm a princess!" The 7 year old took a beautiful pose to show off her pretty outfit.

"I see!" the detective replied with enthusiasm. "You look very lovely." Olivia sat on Taylor's bed, complete with princess bedsheets.

"Do you wanna see my princess doll?" Taylor asked with excitement, already heading for it.

"Maybe later." Olivia said.

"Then what do you wanna do?" the girl asked, sitting next to her.

"Taylor, I need to talk to you." Benson began. The child's smile dissapeared. "You told me about your friend, Lizzie."

She nodded.

"Sweetheart, I know that you don't want Lizzie to be mad at you, but I really have to talk to her. She may be able to help me catch that man."

Taylor sighed. After a moment or two, however, a smile appeared once again. "Maybe I can tell you what you need to know! That way you won't have to talk to Lizzie." The girl was very proud of herself for comming up with such a great idea, Olivia almost gave into it. As much as she hated to refuse, she knew this was the only way to catch the rapist.

"I'm sorry, Taylor. I wish you could, but I need to hear it from Lizzie. I tell you what. After I finnish talking to Lizzie, I'll let her know that you still want to be friends. How does that sound?"

"I guess."

That night, Olivia left the Culver house with a warm smile as she stepped back into the crisp night. Tommorow, she would go to the school. It was there she'd try and talk to Lizzie, and hopefuly, Elliot either would never find out, or would be easy on his partner. Only time would tell.

Ok, I need a little more help. Can anyone give me a small idea of Lizzie's character? Imaginative, mature, troublesome, sweet, intelligent? and what would her age be now?

Thanks again to the people who have reviewed, including the latest person, Caitlyn.


	7. Chapter 7

I would like to thank Rox88 for the help provided to determine Lizzie's character. Please keep up the wonderful reviews. Thank you for your kind words. Thank you to another reviewer, poetryxxPrincess.

When Olivia returned to work the next day, Elliot was waiting by his desk. He already had his coffee, and he was ready to get to work. However, Olivia on the other hand was cautious.

"I thought you were resting." she said.

"I was, I'm all rested now. So, what do we have on the case so far?" It was clear to her now, he had not read her notes. She couldn't keep him away from the case any longer. He would find out the truth. Either she had to tell him, or he would be mad at her as soon as he found out, because she hadn't told him. She thought up a way to at least get him to the school without much of a problem.

"Well, Taylor mentioned something about a friend she had at school. I called the school and they're expecting us anytime." She handed him the address. "I've been working a while, you can at least drive."

She grabbed her coat and headed for the door, Elliot followed. "Hey, this is the same school my kids go to." he commented. With her back turned to him, Olivia frowned, but nodded. Then, in a happier vioce said "yeah?" and walked out the door.

Sorry it took me a while to update. Couldn't quite get in the right mood. I'll try to keep it comming though.

This chapter may be a little cheasy, but I wanted to give everyone something. Let me know if I should

work on this chapter more or leave it. I can't tell if it is written well enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to ObSeSsEdWiThSvU for another nice review.

Elliot pulled the car into the school parkinglot. Olivia was begining to feel a little queezy. What would be Elliot's reaction? They stepped out into the cold and shut the doors. A quick 'beep' and a flash of lights told them they had locked it, and they walked into the school.

"The office is to the left. They'll ask you to sign in the guestbook, but our badges should do the trick." Detective Stabler said, slightly proud to show Olivia the school his children went to. Olivia just nodded. They made a quick left and opened the wooden doors leading into the office. A trophy case hung on the right side, star students' pictures on the left side, and on the far wall, the awards the school had won. Highest Grades. Book Reading Award. Cans for Cause. Those were just a few.

"May I help you?" a man asked. He wore a red shirt and black pants.

"I'm Elliot Stabler. This is Olivia Benson." he told the man, flashing his badge. Olivia took hers out too.

"What can I do for you officers?"

"We need to talk to two girls here." Olivia said. "The first one is Taylor Culver."

"She'd be in room 118" he said. "And the other?"

_Here it goes _she thought. "Elizabeth." Her partner gave her a look.

"Can I have the last name?" the man asked.

"Stabler."

With that Elliot couldn't hold it in. "Excuse me." he said, storming outside. Detective Benson let her partner go. She needed to do this, and it could be better if he was out of the way.

"She's in room 307." he told her. "Would you like me to call them down for you?"

"Um, no, that's alright." She didn't want to even think of what Elliot would do if he heard his daughter's name over the loudspeaker. She thanked the man and exited the office.


	9. Chapter 9

As she walked down the halls, she could hear children talking and laughing. On each side of her there were projects hung up for all to see. 110, 112, 114, 116, 118. Time to see Taylor. Olivia knocked lightly on the door. The teacher came over.

"May I help you?" she asked in a kind voice. Her name tag read "Abigail Duffy".

"I'm looking for Taylor Culver." Detective Benson said, showing her badge. Ms. Duffy pointed to her and motioned her to come over.

"Ooooooooo!" the class said in union as if she were in trouble. Taylor stood up and, without looking at her classmates, headed over to the door.

"Thank you" Olivia said, and the teacher went back inside her classroom. She could hear her saying to the class "Alright! That's enough."

The door closed, and Taylor wrapped her arms around the Detective. "Olivia!" she said in a whisper.

"Hi Taylor. I'm going to take you to a special room in the office. I want to talk to you in there, but first I need to go pick up someone else."

"Who?" asked the girl.

"A friend in room 307."

They climbed up the stairs together, and came out on the third floor. 301, 303, 305, 307. Once again, Olivia knocked on the door. A second later, the teacher opened it.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" he said.

"I need Elizabeth Stabler." Olivia said, a little quieter than usual. She flashed her badge, and another moment later Elliot's daughter stood in front of her.

"Olivia? What are you doing here? Where's my dad?" Lizzie started asking immediately.

"Lizzie, I need to talk to you in the off-" she was cut off.

"Taylor? What did you say?" Lizzie asked, a little bit of fear showed in her eyes. All Taylor could do was hide behind Olivia. Detective Benson relized how hard this just may be.

"Lizzie...I...I'm sorry." Taylor said, a single tear slid down her face. Olivia sighed.

"Lizzie, please, can we talk in the office?" she almost pleaded. She rubbed a hand on Taylors back.

"Is my dad there?" she asked.

"No, he's waiting outside for now." Olivia replied. _For now_ she thought again.

"Fine." and the three of them walked back to the office in silence. Lizzie picked up the pace, staying ahead of them without even looking back. Taylor hung on to Olivia's hand, who gave a tight squeeze in response.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to Sam and LT8. Also, my apologies to SensitiveSoul. I must have skipped over your name. It reviewers like you who help me to keep going. Special thanks to Rox88 for sticking with me through out the story and providing feedback.

Lizzie sat on one end of the long confrence table. She faced Taylor, sitting on the opposite end. Olivia sat in the middle. The room was silent for what seemed like eternaty. Finaly, the detective spoke.

"Lizzie, I want you to know that Taylor never wanted to say a word about you. But she is honest, and I respect that. She is concerned about you more than she is of herself. If you are going to be mad at anyone, it should be me."

Lizzie sighed. "What do you want? I need to get back to class."

"I need you to tell me about what happened between you and Taylor."

"We played hide and seek. Then she got all paraniod about being left alone, so I thought hide and seek wasn't the best game for her to play. I still wanted to play it though, so I played it with my other friends."

"Did you ever see the man she told you about?"

"No." she said impatiently. "Can I-"

There was a quick knock at the door, and Elliot came in. He looked madder than heck. Lizzie jumped in her seat, and fear struck her like a bullet.

"Daddy I-"

"Elizabeth." her father said. "You never told me you knew about this? How could you!" she said in rage.

"Dad I'm sorry" Lizzie said, a tear falling.

"You know how important the information is. You knew something happened, and you never said a word to me." Elliot still could get over his disbelief.

"When we get home, you're going-"

"Mr. Stabler_ please_" Taylor shouted. Everyone was silent."It's not her fault. Don't be mad at her. She's a good friend." Now Taylor began to cry. Detective Stabler was quiet, and then all the anger seemed to vannish from his face.

"I'm sorry, Lizzie." he told his daughter.

"Oh daddy!" Lizzie cried, and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry. I was just so scared."

"Scared of what, honey?" he asked.

"Scared of what you would do." she said softly. She turned to Taylor. "I'm sorry for leaving you like that. And, I...I am really sorry about...what happened." she said to the girl.

"You mean, your not mad at me?" the 7-year-old asked.

"Well, I was dissapointed at first. But now I relize that I shouldn't have made you keep that secret. You still want to be friends?" Taylor nodded, but with all the excitement, she was still crying.

"Taylor, sweetheart, why don't we go outside?" Olivia suggested, wipping some tears from her cheeks. The girl nodded, and Detective Benson helped her up, leaving her partner to solve his own problem.

As soon as they stepped out, the little girl began to sob. Olivia bent down and took her into her own arms. "It's ok, sweetheart." she soothed, sighing.

This job was tough on both detectives. _Especialy _when it involved a child._  
_


End file.
